As a result of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that happened in the Bohol region of the Philippines on Oct 15, customer support operations of various companies outsourcing their services from the country were affected.

On Oct 14, eBay Australia, asked their customers to be patient as their customer service support needed to be halted until conditions in the Philippines improve.

eBay Australia wrote on their Web site:

"Earlier today an earthquake hit the Philippines near the city of Cebu. Many of our dedicated Customer Support employees are based in this region, and our thoughts are with all of them and their families as they deal with this disaster.

The office building where our employees are based has been evacuated. However, we are pleased that no employees are believed to have been injured or harmed.

As a result of this disaster, our phone, chat and email customer support operations will be temporarily unavailable. We are working to get support in place and ask for your understanding and patience while we work through this."

According to local reports from the Philippines, officials from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, depict the Philippine quake comparable to the strength of 32 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

Worse, more aftershocks were expected.

"As of 11:00 a.m., there were 110 aftershocks already registered," Philvolcs Executive Director Renato Solidum said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Civil Defence spokesperson Reynaldo Balido Jr said that there were already 28 casualties across Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor, and this figure was expected to increase as more areas are being search and more reports coming in. There were 33 injured and rescued from debris in Basil, Cebu.

As heritage churches crumbled, officials said that they were still thankful that the earthquake did not happen on a Sunday.

"Today is a holiday, there was no convergence of crowds, particularly in churches. Had this happened on a Sunday, especially at 8:00 a.m., it will be another story," Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said during an interview.

Mr Solidum, meanwhile, reiterated that there is no threat of a tsunami and that the earthquake did not direct effect to other faults across the Philippines.